By: Mark Fitzgerald Though he remains the controlling shareholder in newspaper publisher Hollinger International, former Chairman Conrad Black will not receive any money from the big special dividend the company is paying stockholders from the proceeds of selling The Daily Telegraph of London.
In a statement released after Hollinger International announced the special dividend, Hollinger Inc. -- the Black-controlled holding company that has a 68% voting and 18.2% equity interest in the publishing company -- said it will not pay to Black or any other shareholders its cut of the special dividend, plus money from the regular dividend of 5-cents per share that Hollinger International also declared.
Hollinger said it expects to receive about $39.4 million from the special dividend plus about $789,000 from the regular dividend. It said that it is obligated, under terms of an outstanding $93 million loan, to transfer $37.4 million to a trust as collateral. "The balance of the dividend will be retained by Hollinger and applied for corporate purposes," the statement said.
As reported, Hollinger International last week said it would distribute $227 million from the sale of the Telegraph and related British publications as a special dividend to stockholders. The company said it might pay out a further $273 million as a tender offer for its stock.
Black owns about 78% of Hollinger Inc. through his private Ravelston Corp. Last month he resigned as CEO and chairman of Hollinger Inc. Last year he and other key executives were ousted from Hollinger International, which has since filed suit claiming the group "looted" some $400 million from the publishing company by pocketing improper fees and payments.
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